Institute for International Crop Improvement ANNUAL ACHIEVEMENT HIGHLIGHTS / 2013

Transcription

1 Institute for International Crop Improvement ANNUAL ACHIEVEMENT HIGHLIGHTS / 2013

2 SCIENTISTS MADE 100 CANDIDATE PLANT VARIETIES TO TEST FOR IMPROVEMENT OF VITAMIN A AND IRON CONTENT.

3 INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL CROP IMPROVEMENT DISCOVERY Scientists at the Institute seek to translate key discoveries in plant disease and pest management, genomics, advanced breeding, and nutrition to staple crops that contribute to food security, and that are underserved by commercial agriculture. Recent work has focused on cassava, sweet potato, groundnuts, cowpea, sorghum, banana and millets. COMMUNITY The Institute works in partnership with international research institutions, NGOs, funding agencies and regulatory agencies. Members of the Institute are involved in 18 international collaborations, connecting leading scientists and cuttingedge technologies, training international scientists, and providing regulatory, biosafety and project management services. IMPACT The Institute is committed to delivering products to communities where improved crops are needed most, and where they will have disproportionate impact. Enhanced staple crops will provide improved food security, nutrition and economic stability to smallholder farmers and their families.

4 COMPLETED 55 FIELD TRIALS TO DATE AWARDED $5M IN GRANTS TO DEVELOP STAPLE CROPS WITH IMPROVED NUTRITION, DROUGHT TOLERANCE AND DISEASE RESISTANCE 18 COLLABORATIONS ACROSS THE GLOBE 2013 HIGHLIGHTS CROP DISEASE AND PEST MANAGEMENT Conducted confined field trials in partnership with scientists in Uganda and Kenya, demonstrating that improved cassava plants were resistant to cassava brown streak virus. Established a new laboratory for trait discovery to improve resistance to cereal stem borer insects and the parasitic plant Striga in sorghum. Obtained government approval to conduct field trials of virus resistant sweet potato in Uganda in 2014, an important step in improving yield of this significant staple crop in the developing world. Initiated new research program for development of resistance to cassava bacterial blight disease. Initiated two USAID-funded collaborations for enhancing cassava disease resistance, bringing the total number of IICI collaborations to 18. IMPROVEMENT OF NUTRITIONAL QUALITY Generated over 100 new candidate varieties to screen for improvement of vitamin A and iron content. Conducted four field trials of cassava with elevated pro-vitamin A in Puerto Rico with collaborator at the University of Mayaguez. Established a research cooperation with the Iowa Corn Promotion Board to develop technologies to improve the productivity and nutritional value of corn and food security crops for underdeveloped regions. FIELD TRIAL AND BIOSAFETY SUPPORT Cooperated in the evaluation of Golden Rice in Indonesia and Bangladesh. Conducted or assisted with eight field trials in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Africa and the Philippines, bringing the total trials to 55 with crops under development.

5 2013 ACTIVE GRANTS AND CONTRACTS Biocassava Plus Biosafety Resource Network PROJECT DESCRIPTION SPONSOR START/END TOTAL GRANT A Cassava Breeding Community of Practice Production and validation of a universal plant virus microarray Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa Production of data for the regulatory assessment of golden rice Bt Cowpea BioCassava Plus II Bio-Fortified Sorghum for Africa Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa II Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa II An assessment of the social and economic impacts of deploying virus resistant cassava cultivars in East Africa Virus Resistant Sweet Potato Drought Tolerant Cereals Regulatory development for HEG-modified mosquitoes Program for Biosafety Systems Deployment and validation of high beta carotene rice varieties to combat Vitamin A Deficiency Commercial contract Bio-Fortified Sorghum for Africa II Regulatory support for Banana 21 project Development of herbicide tolerant cassava African Agricultural Technology Foundation US Department of Agriculture US Agency for International Development (USAID) International Rice Research Institute African Agricultural Technology Foundation Howard G. Buffett Foundation Monsanto Fund John Templeton Foundation Howard G. Buffett Foundation US Department of Energy Foundation For The National Institutes of Health USAID International Rice Research Institute Iowa Corn Promotion Board Howard G. Buffett Foundation Queensland University of Technology Sept Sept Nov April 2009 Mar June 2009 Sept Oct Nov Dec Aug Aug Nov Nov Jan Dec April 2011 April 2016 June 2011 June 2016 Mar Mar Mar Sept Sept Oct July 2016 Oct Sep Jan Jan Dec May 2013 April 2014 Sept Aug Nov Oct $6,486,208 $5,345,895 $425,034 $220,039 $2,694,416 $120,000 $170,050 $8,257,560 $4,241,365 $5,548,750 $5,299,944 $249,999 $269,968 $586,674 $994,971 $215,848 $89,000 $68,805 $973,555 $622,874 $2,177,824 TOTAL $45,058,779 Peer-reviewed articles published by IICI scientists. Gao, S.J., et al. (2013). Enhanced transgene expression in sugarcane by co-expression of virus-encoded RNA silencing suppressors. PLoS One 8, e Haggman, H., et al. (2013). Genetically engineered trees for plantation forests: key considerations for environmental risk assessment. Plant Biotechnology J /pbi Ashraf, M.A., et al. (2013). Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of a variant of highly infectious cotton leaf curl Burewala virus associated with CLCuD from Pakistan. Aust J Crop Sci 7, Beyene, G., Curtis, I., Damaj, M., Buenrostro-Nava, M., and Mirkov, T.E. (2013). Genetic engineering of Saccharum. In Genomics of the Saccharinae, A.H. Paterson, ed (Springer New York), pp Henley, W.J., et al. (2013). Initial risk assessment of genetically modified (GM) microalgae for commodity-scale biofuel cultivation. Algal Research 2, Khan, A.J., Akhtar, S., Al-Matrushi, A.M., Fauquet, C.M., and Briddon, R.W. (2013). Introduction of East African cassava mosaic Zanzibar virus to Oman harks back to Zanzibar, the capital of Oman. Virus Genes 46, Okogbenin, E., et al. (2013). Phenotypic approaches to drought in cassava: review. Frontiers in physiology 4, 93. Olasanmi, B., et al. (2013). Bulked segregant analysis identifies molecular markers associated with early bulking in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz). Euphytica /s , Parkes, E., Fregene, M., Dixon, A., Boakye-Peprah, B., and Labuschagne, M. (2013). Combining ability of cassava genotypes for cassava mosaic disease and cassava bacterial blight, yield and its related components in two ecological zones in Ghana. Euphytica 194, Afuape, S., Sayre, R., Tawanda, Z., and Kahya, S. (2013). Transgenic cassava lines carrying heterologous alternative oxidase (AtAOX1a) showed impaired quantitative and qualitative response to embryogenesis. Afr J Biotech 12,

6 INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL CROP IMPROVEMENT The Institute for International Crop Improvement at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center was established in 2012 with a generous gift from the JS McDonnell Foundation to improve the productivity and nutritional value of food security crops, and to advance delivery of improved crops to underserved regions. Improve the Human Condition through Plant Science North Warson Road / St. Louis, Missouri Printed with solvent-free inks & emission-free coatings on recycled stock that utilized 30% post-consumer recovered fiber paper Donald Danforth Plant Science Center